(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved terminal that can be positively secured in position and permits good electric conduction.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
The electronics industry is a major industry of the new era and develops very fast, in particular the computer industry. There are numerous kinds of computer peripherals and accessories available on the market. For terminals, although they are very small, if their structure is not properly designed, it will cause inconvenience in use.
FIG. 1 shows the structure of a conventional terminal 10. The terminal 10 mainly has a slot 11 at one end for receiving a wire, a clamp plate 12 at the opposite end adapted for clamping the sheath of the wire, a fastening plate 13 adapted for clamping a core wire 30 inside the wire, a notch 14 in a bottom side proximate to the slot 11, and a stop plate 15 extending from one side into the notch 14. In addition, the notch 14 has two depressed contact points 16 on both sides thereof. Both sides of an intermediate section of the terminal 10 are provided with through holes 17 and retaining portions 18. The retaining portions 18 are bent with opposed outer sides forming a depression. The wire is disposed in the slot 11 of the terminal 10, and its sheath and core wire 30 are respectively secured in position by means of the clamp plate 12 and fastening plate 13. The contact points 16 at the front end of the terminal 10 are pressed inwardly so that the core wire 30 may contact the contact points 16 and the stop plate 15 to achieve electrical connection.
However, as the retaining portions 18 extending from the inner sides of the respective through holes 17 at the intermediate section of the terminal 10 have pointed rear ends, as shown in FIG. 2, when the terminal 10 is inserted into a terminal interface slot, it is difficult to push it in and requires a relatively large force to achieve engagement. Once the terminal 10 is inserted into the terminal interface slot, since the rear ends of the retaining portions 18 are pointed, the retaining effect is not good. Besides, the depressions on one side of the retaining portions 18, meant to enhance the structural strength thereof, are not easy to make during manufacture. Furthermore, since the stop plate 15 near the front end of the terminal 10 is pressed inwardly from the outer side of the front end of the terminal 10 to cause the contact points 16 and the stop plate 15 contact the core wire 30 respectively when the wire is inserted into the slot 11, as shown in FIG. 3, contact among the stop plate 15, the contact points 16, and the core wire 30, being in point contact with one another, may be defective through repeated engagement or disengagement of the terminals 10 in use. As a result, the terminal 10 becomes unusable.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved terminal which can obviate and mitigate the above-mentioned drawbacks.